by Theresa Rutter, FFRPS FRPharmS
Most of us will have done some mentoring and many like me will have no formal qualification. I became interested after being mentored years ago by a non-pharmacist working towards a formal mentoring qualification. I found the process so useful that I wondered why it wasn’t embedded within the profession as a self-development tool.
Mentoring as a retired pharmacist
We retired pharmacists have the experience and skills to support the self-development of pharmacists at all stages of their career.
I started to mentor before retiring and have continued since with up to 6 mentees at varying intervals. They work in different sectors and levels of seniority.
Their areas of focus have included leadership, effective team work, staff management, prioritising, change management, problem solving, negotiating, influencing and work life balance.
The competencies (in the Advanced Pharmacy Framework) relating to these generic skills do not go past their expiry date.
I’ve found that career progression often means that mentees come to value satisfaction about their performance and recognition more highly.
Feedback from my mentees about their experience of mentoring
- Mentoring provides a safe space and encourages them to explore options and find solutions to challenges
- Retirees may have more time & flexibility to fit round the working hours of mentees
- The empathetic relationship helps them to be honest about problems and areas for self-improvement
- The sessions give them head space for reflection and creative thinking
What’s in it for mentors?
- Stimulates neuronal pathways (use it or lose it)
- The opportunity to share expertise and see mentees thrive is rewarding
- It’s always good to get positive feedback
How you can get involved in mentoring?
It’s easy to sign up - RPS has launched a new mentoring platform which facilitates easy and appropriate matching of mentor to mentee. You need to reflect on the skills you can offer to the mentees, complete your profile and then keep an eye on your emails for requests from potential mentees, which you can either accept or decline.
For mentees, the same principles apply. They need to reflect on what they would like to get from a mentoring relationship and once registered can select a mentor based on their preferred profile of skills and experience, interest and local area (optional).
Sign up at www.rpharms.com/mentoring